


Life Can Be Beautiful

by whatsyourdamageveronica



Category: Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Veronica never joined the Heathers, also i can't do summaries i'm so sorry, cross posted on tumblr, i don't know how else to tag this?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-14
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-18 17:16:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10621482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatsyourdamageveronica/pseuds/whatsyourdamageveronica
Summary: Inspired by a post from jdronica on Tumblr. What if Veronica had never joined the Heathers? How would things have played out?





	1. Chapter 1

It was three weeks into senior year, and Veronica Sawyer was as unpopular as ever. She was currently sitting alone at the table in the corner, waiting for Martha Dunnstock, her one friend in the hellhole that the adults called “high school.”  
She rested her chin in her hand, staring at the three queens of Westerburg High School; Heather McNamara (head cheerleader), Heather Duke (runs the yearbook), and Heather Chandler (the almighty). They were picking at their food and flirting with the football players. Probably discussing the huge homecoming party Ram Sweeney, the linebacker, was throwing that Friday, Veronica thought, and turned her gaze to her own extremely unappetizing food. She picked up the pizza, then set it back down as the cheese started literally dripping grease, feeling slightly nauseous.  
A hand grabbed Veronica’s shoulder, and she jumped, then laughed.  
“Hey, Martha,” she said without looking, and froze in surprise at the voice that sounded.  
“As if,” Heather Duke sneered. Veronica turned in her seat to look at the green-clad girl with slightly wide eyes.  
“Heather,” she greeted, unsure of the protocol when a Heather started a conversation with you. Did you bow, or call her Your Highness? Was there some sort of honorific to use?  
Apparently, the greeting was enough, because Heather continued.  
“Veronica Sawyer,” she said, voice dripping with sickly sweetness. “Heather and Heather and I were wondering if you and Martha Dum…uh, Dunnstock would be interested in coming to the big party tomorrow night?”  
Veronica was stunned. The Heathers were actually inviting her and Martha to Ram’s party? She blinked stupidly at Heather, who sighed and rolled her eyes.  
“It’s a yes or no question, Sawyer,” she snapped, and Veronica jumped.  
“Um, yes,” Veronica babbled. “Yes, yes, that sounds amazing, thank you so much for inviting-”  
“How very,” Heather interrupted disdainfully. “See you there.”  
She turned and flounced away, and Veronica turned her stunned gaze to the Heathers’ table. Heather McNamara caught her gaze and shot her a smile and a small wave.  
Veronica slumped in her seat, completely and utterly shocked. How many times had she dreamed of being part of the Heathers’ in crowd? And now she was getting the chance to go to a party with the Heathers…one that Heather Duke herself had personally invited her to!  
Martha walked up with her lunch tray, took one look at Veronica, and practically threw herself into the seat across from her best friend.  
“Veronica, are you okay?” Martha demanded, and Veronica nodded slowly.  
“Martha, you’re never gonna believe what just happened,” she heard herself say.  
As she explained the invitation to Martha, she saw Heather Chandler and Kurt Kelly, the quarterback, looking at their table. Heather was pointing and gesturing as she said something to Kurt, and Kurt was nodding, squinting at Veronica.  
“Oh my God,” Martha squealed, snapping Veronica back to the conversation at hand. “And Heather Duke asked us personally? And the invitation was from all the Heathers?”  
“Yeah,” Veronica confirmed, and Martha gasped.  
“That’s so amazing,” she breathed, and Veronica grinned.  
“Right?”  
A few minutes passed as Veronica and Martha blotted the grease off their pizza and started eating. Suddenly, Martha sucked in a quick breath through her nose and dropped her pizza.  
“Oh, Ronnie, I forgot, I have to go talk to Mrs Duffy about my grade in her class,” she exclaimed, and Veronica smiled.  
“Go on,” she said affectionately, and Martha rose quickly and hurried off, leaving Veronica alone at her table again.  
“It’s totally a trap,” an unfamiliar voice said, and Veronica looked up in confusion, only to stop short when she saw who was standing there.  
She had never seen him before, she was certain of that. She would have remembered him. He was tall but not too skinny, dressed in a black trench coat over a plaid shirt over a black t-shirt and black jeans, holding a rather hefty book in his hands. His hair was black and curly, and his skin was a beautiful tan.  
‘Not to be cliche,’ she thought, intellect slowed to a crawl for the second time in an hour, ‘but ‘tall, dark, and handsome’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.’  
He chuckled, and Veronica’s face began to burn.  
“Oh my God, did I say that out loud?” she blurted, and the boy smirked.  
“Yeah,” he drawled, “but trust me, I’m flattered.”  
Veronica’s face was on fire as he continued.  
“Anyway, that invite is going to end up being some kind of ambush, I guarantee it.”  
Veronica frowned at him.  
“But what if it isn’t?” she said, almost pouting. “I mean, what if the Heathers-”  
“Finally grew souls and decided to be nice to the unpopular people of this school?” the boy scoffed. “Please. I’ve only been here a few days and I can already tell you that if you think that could actually be true, you are in desperate need of a reality check. ‘Any man who does not accept the conditions of life sells his soul.’”  
Veronica wanted to be angry at him, but she knew, deep down, he was right. She racked her brain for a witty response, but to her shock, he turned and started to leave the room. She shoved her chair backwards and stood.  
“Okay, whoa,” she called. “Don’t just quote Baudelaire at me and then walk away. Excuse me?”  
He paused and glanced back at her, raising one eyebrow. Veronica ignored the way her stomach quivered ever so slightly and wrinkled her nose at him.  
“I didn’t catch your name,” she said, and he smirked again.  
“I didn’t throw it,” he replied, and Veronica could only stare in shock as he turned and started walking away again.  
But before he got to the exit, Kurt materialized seemingly out of nowhere to clamp his arm around the new kid’s neck in a headlock.  
“Hey, sweetheart,” Kurt practically yelled, “what did your boyfriend say when you told him you were moving to Sherwood, Ohio?”  
Ram, who was never more than two steps away from Kurt at any given time, piped up.  
“My buddy Kurt just asked you a question,” he said, slapping the back of the new kid’s head with every word. Still, no response.  
“Hey, Ram,” Kurt declared, “doesn’t this cafeteria have a no-fags-allowed rule?”  
The boy smacked his book against his hand with the most insincere grin Veronica had ever seen, and she’d been watching the Heathers since middle school.  
“They seem to have an open-door policy for assholes, though,” he commented, fake grin still plastered in place. Kurt and Ram exchanged a glance over his head.  
“Hold his arms,” Kurt commanded, but the new kid was too quick. As Kurt tried to take a swing, the other boy blocked it with the book and hit the quarterback in the nose with it, then whirled and hit Ram with the book in an arcing uppercut.  
With a wink at Veronica, he tossed the book to her. She barely managed to catch it while she watched, stunned, with the rest of the cafeteria as the new kid nailed Kurt right between the legs, then punched Ram in the face. Kurt, clearly still in pain, took a swing that went insanely wide. The new kid just laughed and raised his arms in a “come at me” pose before grabbing Kurt’s ears and headbutting him three times.  
“Thanks for holding that for me,” the boy in the trench coat said to Veronica, stepping over Ram as the linebacker groaned. He took his book from her unprotesting hands and gave her a mock salute.  
“See you later,” Veronica managed somehow, and the boy grinned.  
“Definitely,” he said, winked at her again, and left the cafeteria before the teachers had gathered their wits enough to grab him.  
“Well, that’s it,” Veronica breathed to no one in particular. “I’m in love.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the 7/11 scene, aka the most awkward flirting scene in existence. enjoy!

Veronica looked, but she didn’t see any more of trench coat kid for the next two days. She was beginning to think she’d dreamed the whole thing.  
After turning the party invitation over and over in her mind, Veronica had decided that yes, she was going to the party. She would just be very careful to avoid any traps the Heathers might have laid for her.  
So, hair and makeup painstakingly done, clad in an outfit that she never would have worn normally (grey mini skirt, white undershirt, blue blazer), Veronica strode confidently into the 7/11 to buy some snacks for the party. Heather Duke had passed on a message from Heather Chandler that she was in charge of Corn Nuts, and that if they weren’t BQ, Veronica was in trouble.  
As she browsed the aisle, a familiar voice sounded from behind her.  
“Greetings and salutations,” said the boy Veronica had met in the cafeteria, making her jump and whirl to face him, tugging on her skirt self-consciously. “You want a Slurpee with that?”  
Veronica huffed a laugh.  
“No, but if you’re nice, I’ll let you buy me a Big Gulp,” she replied, and his face twisted in a slight sneer.  
“That’s like going to a Mickey D’s to order a salad,” he scoffed. “Slurpee’s the signature dish of the house. Now, did you say cherry or lime?”  
“I said Big Gulp,” Veronica repeated, and the boy, who had been turning away, turned back with one raised eyebrow.  
A moment of silence passed, and Veronica cleared her throat.  
“I’m Veronica Sawyer, by the way,” she said. The boy just blinked at her.  
After another, far more awkward pause, Veronica wrinkled her nose.  
“You ever gonna tell me your name?” she asked.  
“I’ll end the suspense,” the boy replied, all confidence and snark. “Jason Dean. JD for short.”  
He held out a hand to shake, and Veronica took it eagerly, feeling butterflies explode into being in her stomach.  
“So, JD,” she smiled, “that thing you pulled in the caf was pretty severe.”  
She was rewarded with a genuine smile as JD replied, “The extreme always seems to make an impression.”  
Veronica wanted to see that smile again. She felt the butterflies in her stomach fluttering frantically as she grinned back.  
“Sooo, what’s a Baudelaire-quoting badass like you doing in Sherwood, Ohio?” she asked after a moment, carrying the Corn Nuts to the counter. There was no cashier in sight, so she leaned against it, turning to face JD.  
“My dad’s work,” JD said, suddenly involved in playing with the straw in his Slurpee. “He owns a deconstruction company.”  
“Deconstruction,” Veronica repeated flatly, completely confused. JD’s face twisted in a disdainful smirk.  
“The old man seems to enjoy tearing things down. You’ve seen the commercial,” he said, and adopted a mocking attitude as he quoted it. “‘I’m Big Bud Dean, and if it’s in your way I’ll make your day.’”  
Veronica laughed as she remembered the commercial.  
“And then he pushes the plunger and the screen blows up,” she chuckled, only to realize what she was saying when she saw JD’s face pinch.  
She cleared her throat and reached up to rub the back of her neck.  
“That’s your dad?” she asked sheepishly, and JD’s face relaxed into a sarcastic grin.  
“In all his semi-psychotic glory,” he drawled, and Veronica smiled gently.  
“Well, everyone’s life has got static. For example, I’m on my way to a party where I may or may not be completely humiliated, but I’m taking the risk because my social life is nonexistent as it is,” Veronica said, and rolled her eyes.  
“I think that’s a stupid reason to go to a party. You should hang here,” JD commented, and Veronica raised her eyebrows.  
“At the 7/11? Swanky first date,” she said automatically, then froze as she realized what she’d just said. JD just smiled at her.  
“Hey, I love this place,” he said.  
“No offense,” Veronica said, grabbing a piece of licorice out of a container on the counter, “but why?”  
JD’s face creased again, and Veronica opened her mouth to tell him he didn’t have to answer, but he held up a hand.  
“It’s always been the one constant in my life,” he said slowly, as if trying to assemble his thoughts. “I’ve been moved around my entire life.”  
“Mmm,” Veronica nodded, taking a bite of the licorice.  
“And these things,” JD continued, holding up the cup. “Have you ever frozen your brain with one of these things? It’s a great distraction from life. Try it.”  
He held out the cup, and Veronica smirked.  
“Does your mommy know you eat all that crap?” she said in a slightly sing-song tone, and JD smiled humorlessly.  
“Not anymore.”  
Veronica’s jaw dropped, but JD continued as she tried to gather her wits.  
“I learned a lot of things really quick after she died,” he said. “I can cook pasta, and I’m always the one who pays the rent. You think your future’s gonna be some golden paradise where you go to college and marry some rich lawyer who’ll keep you in comfort for the rest of your life? Better learn now, Veronica Sawyer. The world is a hard place, and nobody owes you anything.”  
Veronica was stunned. JD held up the Slurpee once more.  
“These things let you forget who you are, just for a minute,” he said lightly, and Veronica blinked. “Try it.”  
Veronica shrugged and took the cup, taking a long sip. Her eyebrows furrowed.  
“Yeah, I don’t really get what the big deal-”  
A wave of pain washed through her skull, and she cried out, pressing her hands to her eyes.  
“Son of a bitch!” she groaned, shaking her head as the pain began to disperse.  
As she opened her eyes, the cashier (who had materialized out of nowhere) cleared her throat. Veronica hastily shoved the cup back into JD’s hands and paid for her stuff.  
“I gotta go,” she said, and JD shrugged.  
“All right,” he said, and she shot him one more grin before she slipped out the door, headed towards the Heathers and what she hoped would be a fun party.


End file.
